Doppelganger
by lrhaboggle
Summary: The library sends Carmilla and Laura to an alternate reality. Cool enough. But wait! They end up meeting themselves from a different time, but there's something else that's a little off with these doppelgangers...


"What the-? Where are we?" Carmilla got to her feet slowly. "What am I wearing?" she studied her clothes as she stood up. The last things she remembered wearing were black boots, black leather pants, a white tee, and a black sleeveless leather jacket. Oh, and just for good measure, she had two black leather bracelets as well. But now? Well, she still had her black boots and black leather pants, but her tee and jacket had turned into one black tank top. In addition, there was a plaid shirt tied around her waist and her hair, which had once been hanging down in a black curtain, was now tied up in a ponytail, part of the bangs swept over her right eye. Her black leather bracelets were gone too.

"Whoa! Who? What? When? Where? Where am I?" Carmilla's companion, Laura, stood up as well, though she hopped up way faster. Just like Carmilla, however, she had gone through a minor appearance change. She had gone from wearing dark brown pants and a blue button-up with white butterflies on it, to wearing black pants and a solid maroon shirt. What?

"Where are we?" Laura repeated.

"I don't know, Creampuff, but I have a feeling we aren't alone…" the vampire's dark eyes narrowed. This place, this long empty hallway, seemed vaguely familiar, but she just couldn't place it. It was like the library had transported her body here, but not her mind. At least not as quickly.

"What could it be that the library wanted us to do here?" Laura voiced Carmilla's thoughts.

"I don't know," Carmilla repeated, a frustrated look flickering across her face. "Should we explore?"

"Are you sure?" Laura seemed hesitant.

Just for a moment, Carmilla felt something in her chest squeeze. It was amazing, and sad, how much they'd changed. Now _she_ was the one proposing that they go exploring while Laura was being the cautious, reluctant one. She was so afraid of making another mistake that she was refusing to do anything other than exist. It was an understandable reaction, given what happened during second semester, but it was still a painful thing for Carmilla to see. Her sweet little sun-dance had become scared and apathetic.

Meanwhile, Carmilla was starting to feel and to fight. Now, it looked like they just might have to fight. After all, Carmilla was sure that the library wanted to show them something important. Why else would it have communicated with them, through the Morse code of dropping books on heads, that it needed to take them somewhere private?

So Carmilla took in a breath that she didn't need and steeled her nerves. If Laura was out of commission, Carmilla was going to pick up the slack. It was very different from how she'd behaved at the start of this year, but what wasn't at this point? She willed herself to be strong, both for her sake and Laura's, and she nodded in response to Laura's worried question.

"Just stay close," she commanded, then she crept down the hall, Laura following shyly behind.

At last, the duo reached a door at the end of the hall. Carmilla bade for Laura to be quiet before gesturing to her own ears, a clear sign that she could hear someone talking through the door. She pressed her ear against the door, then her eyes got impossibly wide.

"What?" Laura whispered. Carmilla only held up a hand for silence. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"It can't be," she said, still listening hard.

"What?" Laura repeated, joining Carmilla at the door. She couldn't hear anything other than a few mumbles. It was enough to let her know that there was in fact someone behind the door, but she couldn't recognize any voices or words being said. But Carmilla could.

"It's… it's… it's _us_!" the vampire breathed at last, ear still at the door.

"What?" for a third time, Laura was left in the dark.

"It's us!" Carmilla repeated, more urgent but still very quiet. "I know it sounds crazy, but those voices behind the door are ours! I can recognize them…" she trailed off. "But why do they sound… wrong? There's something different here that I can't place."

"Are we supposed to be here?" asked Laura.

"Let's go inside and see," Carmilla replied. Then, before Laura could even open her mouth, Carmilla boldly opened the door.

"Who the Hell are you?" the Carmilla-clone inside the room spoke first, voice full of surprise and fear. The Laura and Carmilla from the library could only gawk. They weren't even sure of that answer themselves. And was this Carmilla wearing Laura's butterfly shirt? Yes! She was! This Carmilla-clone, or whatever, was wearing Laura's dark pants and butterfly button-up. Her hair was down, bangs pulled back.

"Intruders. That's what they are," the Laura-clone growled, voice low and sultry. She stood up from the stool she'd been leaning on and moved over to the intruders, eyes piercing their souls as she contemplated them.

"Ok. That's creepy," the Laura from the library muttered as her doppelganger scrutinized her, but Laura was doing the same thing. This Laura was wearing a black tee shirt with lace for the short sleeves. She had the same plaid shirt that Library Carmilla was wearing, but she had on dark blue jeans instead of leather pants.

"Ok. What is this? What is going on?" Library Carmilla demanded of the Laura-clone.

"You're interrupting a very… private… moment," the Laura-clone replied, eyes moving back to the Carmilla-clone behind her. She was still sitting in fur-draped chair, a look of shock and disbelief on her face. It was evident she was trying to understand what was going on. Well, they all were. The Carmilla-clone was just being the most obvious about it. The moment Laura-clone had spoken her piece, however, Carmilla-clone began to blush and she looked very uncomfortable and confused with the proceedings. But then again, they all were.

"Ok. This is just bizarre," Library Carmilla decided about five minutes later. Although the clones didn't seem too happy about being interrupted, they were so confused by seeing their doppelgangers that they just had to sit down and talk this out. Laura-clone was sitting upon her little wood stool again, somehow managing to recline on it and rest her boot on the arm of the fur chair. Her face was unreadable and, in the few instances when some semblance of emotion did cross her face, it was either amusement or annoyance.

Carmilla-clone, who was sitting in that fur chair, was smiling up in wonder at her doppelganger, the one from the library. She had no clue what was going on and was still kind of freaked out by everything, including the Laura she knew, but this was kind of cool. Very weird, but very cool. And her alter ego looked so different and stoic! It was kind of sexy. Wait a minute. Was she finding herself sexy? Was that arrogant? Or was that just creepy? She didn't know. She supposed it could be some form of self-confidence. A very _weird_ self-confidence. But hey!

Library Carmilla, however, was not looking quite as fondly down at her twin. On the contrary, despite her fear and confusion, she felt kind of disgusted. In whatever parallel-universe-alternate-reality she was in, this Carmilla Karnstein could be summed up in one word: dork. Everything from her wide eyes, big grin, and unhidden emotions screamed stupid and foolish. It actually made Library Carmilla quite sick to see any incarnation of herself looking like such a wide-eyed moron. Seriously! Where was the leather? The punk? The silver spikes? The I-don't-care attitude? Library Carmilla was pretty sure she was looking at a version of herself that would've tried to pull a Twilight and swear off of human blood just because she was incredibly cute and sweet. It was awful!

Lastly was Library Laura. Although she'd been relatively down on her luck ever since she'd killed Vordenberg and lost Perry and Danny, just for a moment, she was showing a flash of old spirit. She was intrigued by these two clones and she finally realized where they all were. It was a little office/meeting room on the end of their dorm floors. Laura had been there a few times whenever Perry or Lafontaine would call floor meetings. This was that boardroom. Laura just had not recognized it at first because she hadn't been there since before the end of first semester. In addition, everything was so clean and clear and bright! Not like the dark and wounded Silas she knew…

Laura realized they were in an alternate universe where none of the bad stuff had happened and everything was still normal! Or at least, a little less weird. This was an alternate universe of first semester, before everything went down. She studied her clone, watching as she reclined on a stool. She looked at Carmilla's clone, seeing her sheepish and awestruck face. Then she noticed her Carmilla, looking disgusted by it. Laura shot her an apologetic wince that bordered on nervousness in case something went wrong. It was only because Carmilla had finally reached the same realization as Laura. Being back in first semester was not something Carmilla enjoyed. It had been a very awkward time for her, especially the part where Laura had her tied up for nearly a week. But it would explain the change in clothing and why everything looked so happy and bright.

So there the two pairs sat. Laura-clone idling on the far left, Library Carmilla immediately next to her and sneering down at Carmilla-clone who was still looking at her doppelganger, and then Library Laura sitting on the far right, unsure of what to make of any of this.

"So wait, are you me from the future?" the Carmilla-clone asked Library Carmilla in that same way-too-happy-voice.

"Uhhh, something like that," Library Carmilla deadpanned, using that more familiar deep voice.

"And just what do you think you're doing here? Interrupting us?" Laura-clone demanded, a small trace of anger flickering across her face.

"We didn't do it on purpose!" Library Carmilla argued, her pitch matching the Laura-clone's. "The library sent us here."

"The library?" Laura-clone scoffed.

"Oh! Yes! Yeah, the library!" Carmilla-clone sat up eagerly. "That's a weird and dangerous place. Did you go at night, or something?"

"You think all that is real?" Laura-clone asked, eyes narrowing.

"Yeah. I think _all_ the myths surrounding the library are real," Carmilla-clone nodded with serious expression.

"They're just rumors started by the older students!" Laura-clone scoffed, but Carmilla-clone shook her head.

"Have you been there?" Library Carmilla asked, wondering which of the clones was a vampire. Was this a personality swap? Or a body swap?

"Only during the day," Carmilla-clone replied. "It's far too dangerous and it's against the rules to go at night!"

"Ugh," Laura-clone's head lolled back in annoyance and boredom. "You are so tightly wound!"

"Well, yeah, that's true," Carmilla-clone suddenly looked very sheepish.

"Well, do you guys have any idea how to get out of here?" Library Laura demanded.

"None at all, sweetheart," her doppelganger replied. Laura felt her skin crawl. There was just something so wrong about hearing such a sultry voice and hearing _that_ name come out of the mouth of someone who was basically her.

"Well, maybe we could, like, try taking you back to the library?" Carmilla-clone suggested helpfully, even hopping to her feet.

"Oh, no. Absolutely not. We are _not_ going to go play in the library!" Laura-clone whined.

"We're not playing! We're helping!" Carmilla-clone insisted passionately.

"No, let's not," Laura-clone replied. "After all, wasn't this day supposed to be _ours_?"

Laura-clone turned her adorable face towards the Library duo, eyes colder than death. "I don't know who you are," she began, voice now low with danger and not low with seductiveness. "And I don't know how or why you are here. All I know is that you should probably go. Whatever prank this is needs to end. Now."

"This isn't a prank!" Library Laura told her doppelganger. "Do you not believe the stories about the library?"

"No," Laura-clone repeated. "Those are all just myths made up by staff and students to garner obedience."

"No, they're not," Library Carmilla finally interrupted. "It's real. All of it is very real."

"And how do you know?" Laura-clone challenged. Library Carmilla's only response was to extend her fangs. Laura-clone's eyes widened.

"I knew it!" she breathed. Knew what?

"You knew this whole time?! Oh, you must think I'm such a freak! Oh, man! This is so not how I imagined a first date!" Carmilla-clone moaned to herself. Laura-clone had suspected, for awhile, that Carmilla-clone was a vampire. She'd just never been able to call her out on it. At least not until this doppelganger revealed a wicked pair of fangs. Now, the way Laura-clone saw it, if this doppelganger was a vampire, so was her Carmilla. "You weren't supposed to know! Oh! How awkward! You must hate me now!" Carmilla-clone continued to fret.

"Not at all," Laura-clone promised. "In fact, I quite like a girl who can bite…"

"Ok, ok! Enough of that now!" Library Laura finally piped up, unable to watch herself creeping on Carmilla any longer. From the look Library Carmilla was giving, that was a mutual feeling. "Let's just see if we can figure out why we're here! Let's head back to the library."

"Alright," Laura-clone finally agreed, seeming to be more interested now that her suspicions about her roommate were confirmed. Carmilla-clone still looked a bit uncomfortable with being outed by her doppelganger, but she was still firm in her decision to help these lost look-alikes.

So off to the library the quartet went. They ended up passing Perry and Lafontaine on the way out. Lafontaine swooned into Perry's arms out of pure shock while Perry cheered them on, screaming about science and genetics and cloning.

"God, this is so weird!" Library Carmilla muttered as Perry continued to babble on about biology and chemistry, Lafontaine still in her arms, blubbering about how they should've gone to a more normal university.

At last, the four reached the library.

"What were your plans?" Laura-clone asked. It was the middle of the day, so things wouldn't be so supernatural right now.

"To be honest, I don't really know," Library Laura admitted.

"Lack-wit," Laura-clone muttered.

"Hey!" Library Carmilla snapped at Laura-clone, but Carmilla-clone quickly stepped in front of Laura-clone.

"Alright, now, let's not be hasty!" her voice was still annoyingly high and sweet, but Library Carmilla stepped down, surprised by that sudden burst of genuine courage and protectiveness from her alter ego. Maybe they weren't as different as they seemed.

"Let's just have a look around," Library Carmilla decided finally, so they did.

After awhile, they ended up in the far corner.

"Hey guys! I don't think we should be here!" Carmilla-clone finally piped up.

"No really?" Laura-clone deadpanned.

"No, really!" Carmilla-clone insisted. "I can smell it. Something's not right."

"What is it?" Library Laura turned to Library Carmilla. Library Carmilla's nose was in the air.

"She's right! There's something else here with us. We should-" Library Carmilla had gotten increasingly nervous during that sentence, but she never got to finish as something large and dark suddenly swooped down from above and scooped her up.

"Carmilla!" three voices bellowed their friend was dangled in the air by her ankles. The force causing this was unseen.

"Put me down or fight like a girl!" Library Carmilla snarled, thrashing against the invisible ropes around her legs. She was suddenly whipped upright, swung through the air and into a bookshelf, sending several heavy tomes to the ground.

"Carm!" Library Laura instantly began climbing the shelves. The Carmilla-clone did likewise, though she went much faster, being a vampire.

"Let her go!" the freed vampire shouted at whatever was holding the second vampire captive. Then she lunged. Right where a large rope would've been, this Carmilla-clone was able to sink her fangs. A shuddering roar sounded off in response to Carmilla-clone's vicious bite. Suddenly, the rope became visible. It wasn't a rope at all. It was a giant tentacle.

"Is this Cthulhu?!" the trapped Carmilla demanded angrily.

"Looks like it!" Laura-clone shouted from down below, eyes narrow as she tried to think of a way to punch out Cthulhu. Library Laura, meanwhile, continued to climb. She had no clue what she was going to do, but she wasn't just going to let Carmilla go that easily. She was finally at eye-level with both of the vampires. She took a book off the shelf and threw it. It didn't do much good, but combined with Carmilla-clone's continued bites, it was enough to get the tentacle to stop shaking Library Carmilla, allowing her to pull herself upright to join her doppelganger in fang-attacks.

Down below, Laura-clone had been able to find all the materials needed to build a flamethrower.

"Carmilla! Down!" Laura-clone commanded. Carmilla-clone looked reluctant until she saw what her Laura was holding, then she leapt to the ground at once, landing as lightly as a cat. "Laura! Back!" Laura-clone uttered a second command and Library Laura obeyed at once, recognizing that flamethrower to be the very same one she and Lafontaine used so many lifetimes ago. "Hold still, Other Carmilla!" Laura-clone gave a third and final command. Library Carmilla fell limp at once and then, Laura-clone pulled the trigger.

What ensued was a literal storm. Fire and paper swirled that section of the library as the books suddenly began flying off the shelves like birds, launching themselves at the creature holding Library Carmilla. It did turn out to be some Cthulhu creature, lying flat on the ceiling with its one tentacle down and still clinging to Library Carmilla. As the attacks mounted, however, the creature finally let go of Library Carmilla.

"Oh, great!" the vampire growled to herself as the wood floor came closer and closer. Being a vampire, this wouldn't kill or even harm her, but it would still really hurt…

The pain never came, however, and Library Carmilla suddenly found herself stretched out on the couch of her own little library, her Laura sitting at a computer just a few feet away. That Laura, Library Laura, turned away from her computer very slowly.

"What. The. Heck?" and this Carmilla couldn't do anything else but shrug.

In time, however, it would occur to the real Laura and Carmilla that the library had transported them to a different timeline not because it was vital to their main mission of stopping the dean and saving Silas, but because it was important to their relationship. It was the library's way of trying to get them back together, reminding them of where they had come from and how and why. It was the library's way of reminding them of the love that they used to share and how it could be found again if they only tried. Its way of showing them might've been a little strange, doing a role reversal of the couple, but perhaps that was only meant to hit home how right the pair was for one another. In any world, in any time, in any iteration, no matter who was the Useless Lesbian and who was the Tiny Gay, Laura and Carmilla were meant to be, and they needed to stop fighting. The library knew this, so it had showed the quarreling couple this alternate reality in hopes that the two would understand and get back together. Their unity was imperative not only to their own survival, but to the survival of the whole world. The library knew it, and it was afraid.

 **AN: Based off a pic on the Carmilla Facebook page wherein the original Laura and Carmilla have been photoshopped in with the role-reversal Laura and Carmilla. I said I had to make some kind of AU crossover fic, so here we go.**


End file.
